Construction World August 2018

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

ONE MILLION M 2 OF CERTIFIED Green Space in Africa

W SP sustainability consultants and engineers have been hard at work for over a decade; setting benchmarks and contri-but- ing to transforming the built space across Africa to become more resilient, sustainable, efficient and toward contributing to lower carbon economies. “The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) was formed in 2007, to lead the way and providing guidance to green South Africa's commercial property sector. At that time, we were trading as GreenByDesign, as part of the WSP group in Africa, and were working on the designs for the second phase of the Nedbank head office in Sandton. In 2009, this building was the first in South Africa, and Africa, to be certified and achieve a Green Star rating,” says Alison Groves, Regional Director, WSP, Building Services, Africa. Groves notes that by 2011 there were already 15 Green Star rated buildings in South Africa. “Since then the industry is doubling exponentially every year and, as the GBCSA introduces more rating tools, the uptake for green buildings is sky rocketing. The green building uptake can also be seen throughout Africa where, to date, Green Building Councils have been established in Namibia, Zambia, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Ghana.” WSP teams of experts have played an active role in 50 Green Star rating certifications for 33 buildings in South Africa, and Africa. The company’s senior consultants and Green Star Accredited Profession- als also continue to work closely with the Green Building Councils within Africa – consulting on the expansions for a number of the Green Star rating tools used in South Africa, and undertaking studies to ensure the necessary rating tools can be appropriately adjusted to fit within the local context conditions of other regions. Mathieu du Plooy, Managing Director for WSP in Africa, said: “This is a remarkable milestone that we are exceptionally proud of. This achievement speaks directly to our commitment and ongoing contributions to the green building and sustainability space. It is also a demonstration of our uncompromising determination for excel- lence – to deliver complex and sustainable projects that contribute to impactful legacies for a future where society can thrive.” Some of the prominent projects that WSP sustainability consul- WSP in Africa, one of the largest multi-disciplinary engineering consultancies on the continent, is celebrating a milestone million square metres of Certified Green Space in Africa.

tants and engineers have been involved with and that contribute to the 1 million m 2 of certified Green Star space include: • Nedbank Phase II, in Sandton – setting a benchmark and a heading for the industry, as the first Green Star rated building in South Africa. • Menlyn Maine Central Square, in Tshwane – WSP achieved an industry first with a Green Star SA Custom Mixed-use rating. • FNB Namibia Holdings’ @Parkside building, in Windhoek – achieved the first Four Star Green Star Africa Design rating, as well as a Five Star Green Star Africa As Built rating, making it the first Five Star rated building in Namibia and Africa, outside of South Africa. • Nobelia Office Tower in Kigali – WSP played an active role in consulting on the development of the rating standards, which first had to be established for a Green Star rating to be possible in Rwanda. The Nobelia Office Tower achieved a Six Star Green Star Africa rating, making it the first Six Star rated green building in Rwanda, and on the continent outside of South Africa. • City of Johannesburg’s (CoJ) new Council Chamber, in Johannesburg – first municipal building in South Africa to be rated under the Public and Education Buildings Design tool and it achieved a Five Star Green Star SA rating. • Agrivaal refurbishment and new Batho Pele House, Tshwane – Agrivaal was the first National Government (NDPW) building to obtain a Green Star Design rating in 2012. Following environmentally-innovative refurbishments of the Agrivaal heritage building and construction of the new office building on the site, Batho Pele House, achieved a Four Star Green Star SA As Built rating. • Vodafone Site Solution Innovation Centre (SSIC) in Midrand – the first building in South Africa to achieve a Six Star Green Star Design rating from the GBCSA in 2011, and in 2017 the building achieved two Net Zero certifications for carbon and ecology. • Standard Bank campus, in Rosebank – WSP was appointed to achieve Four Star Green Star rating certifications, however, through the innovative guidance and recommendations the building achieved a Five Star Green Star SA Design rating, as well as the targeted Five Star Green Star SA As Built rating. • WSP’s African headquarters in Knightsbridge, Bryanston – the building boasts a Four Star Green Star SA Design rating, and in time WSP will seek its Existing Building rating too – based on the actual performance of the building. This is a further testament to the company’s commitment to be a responsible business and contributing to greening the built space.

WSP teams are also working on a num- ber of exciting projects currently – in- cluding but not limited to, the Rosebank Towers that achieved a Four Star Green Star SA Design and As Built rating, Rose- bank Link targeting a Four Star Green Star As Built rating, as well as Education buildings, a corporate office campus in Waterfall and, The MARC, state-of-the- art mixed-use development in Sandton. Each of these developments will contrib- ute to the continuation of green certified urban spaces on the continent. 

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD AUGUST 2018